


Unexpected Friendship

by SociallyAwkwardFox (Maze_Runner_Fae)



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Artist Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes & Tony Stark Friendship, Curiosity, Epic Bromance, Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-05-29 15:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6381187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maze_Runner_Fae/pseuds/SociallyAwkwardFox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve doesn't expect Bucky to spend most of his time at the tower with Tony, but somehow it ends up happening. The two get along like peas in a pod. Strange peas, but it works.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unexpected Friendship

**Author's Note:**

> I spelled Natasha's last name "Romanoff" because from what I looked up that's how it's spelled in the MCU so I went with it since this is set in the MCU. Like my last fic, this one is full of my denial over what will most likely happen in Civil War. I just want Tony and Bucky to friends so everything can be pure happiness. Hope you enjoy.

If someone would have asked Steve who he thought Bucky would get along with best out of all the Avengers, he probably would have guessed Barton or Romanoff. Clint’s sense of humor and propensity for getting into sticky situations reminded Steve so much of Bucky it used to hurt. The fact Natasha is beautifully terrifying had Steve convinced Bucky would want to spend time with her just so he could flirt and would end up finding out they had a lot in common. Of course Steve was aware that Bucky’s time as the Winter Soldier must have changed him, but deep down he was still the same Bucky.

Needless to say, it surprised Steve greatly when he found out Bucky was spending most of his time holed up with Tony in his workshop. He didn’t even find out about it until the two had already been spending practically every day together for nearly two months. The incident leading up to the discovery had involved Clint, a curling iron, and a small fire that Steve would probably still be having nightmares about if it weren’t for the strange sight he’d seen moments later. It had actually taken Steve several minutes to fully comprehend the image Bucky and Tony had created.

At the time, Tony had been working on fixing up part of the Iron Man armor that had been damaged during their last mission. That would have been a familiar enough scene if it weren’t for the trained assassin perched on a stool right next to Tony. Curious blue eyes were focused intently on what Tony was doing with a practiced ease that always made Steve’s hand itch for a pencil and a sketchbook. The thing that nearly had Steve convinced he had fallen down a rabbit hole was the stream of questions that had been pouring out of his best friend’s mouth. Steve was pretty sure he hadn’t heard Bucky talk that much the entire time he’d been living at the tower.

Eventually, he’d been able to break out of his reverie and inform Tony that he would need to take a look at the damage Clint had caused in the kitchen. He was never going to forget the fact Bucky had taken Tony’s momentary distraction as an opportunity to poke at the piece of armor. The sound of whatever tool Tony had been using to tinker smacking against the back of Bucky’s hand had been the last straw. For the next five minutes, Steve had laughed so hard he had needed to use the edge of Tony’s desk to keep himself off the floor then had pulled Bucky into a tight hug.

From that day on, Steve would head straight to Tony’s workshop if he was looking for Bucky and couldn’t find him in any of the common areas. He would always walk in and see Tony working on whatever his latest project was, while Bucky sat nearby asking all sorts of questions. The questions would sometimes be coming so fast that Steve wasn’t sure how Bucky had time to breath. Of course it wasn’t surprising that Tony had absolutely no trouble keeping up with the constant stream of questions at the same time he worked. Steve wouldn’t admit it out loud, but it warmed his heart to see the two getting along so well.

* * *

 

“What will that make it do? Could you make it more compact? Will it be able to work in harsh environments?”

“It’s a protective coating to make it more durable, making it more compact would cause too many problems, and yes it’ll work in harsh environments.”

Bucky leaned practically over Tony’s shoulder to get a better look at whatever it was he was doing to the small object in his hand. “Do I get to try it out?”

“Depends.”

“On?”

“What Steve needs.” The object was placed on the table so Tony could give Steve his full attention and Bucky wouldn’t be able to touch it. “What city is in danger of being destroyed now?”

“None that I know of. Clint bought us all tickets to the Mets game today. Well actually he said he manged to get tickets, he didn’t say how he got them.”

“Illegally would be my guess. I’m more of a soccer fan, but I’m going to go ahead and say yes so I don’t have to deal with the look.”

“I don’t have a look.”

“You’ve clearly never looked in the mirror to see what your face looks like when you’re trying to get something. Coming, Barnes?”

Bucky crossed his arms firmly over his chest and got that stubborn look on his face Steve knew meant he would have to seriously work to wear him down. “Doesn’t Barton realize we’re Brooklyn boys from the forties? It’s Dodgers or nothing.”

“They’re playing the Dodgers.”

“I’ll go get my cap.”

“He’s like a puppy. If puppies could kill you with their bare hands and hide the body where no one could find it.”

“Tony…”

“What?” The exasperated look pinching up Steve’s face was nothing new, but Tony still enjoyed riling the super soldier up by feigning innocence. “Puppies are adorable. Everyone loves puppies. Don’t tell me Captain America hates puppies.”

“I don’t hate puppies. You know what you did.”

“Not a clue, Cap. I’m going to go change. Don’t let Barnes touch anything if he sneaks back in here.”

* * *

 

“Put your back into, Barnes. Harder.”

“I’m trying. You’re making it very difficult. If you would stop moving-”

“It’s not my fault you aren’t doing your job properly. I should have just done this myself.”

“Even you aren’t that talented.”

“Was that a back-handed compliment? I’m flattered.”

“What on earth are you two doing?” The sound of the wrench Tony was holding falling out of his hand and hitting him in the face followed by him swearing up a storm carried through the workshop over the sound of heavy metal. “Should I be worried?”

“Let’s be honest. This isn’t the weirdest thing you’ve caught me doing.”

“You say that a lot. I’m starting to wonder what exactly you think is the weirdest thing I’ve caught you doing.”

“There was that thing at Natasha’s birthday party.”

A blush started to dust along Steve’s high cheekbones and he had to fight the urge to hide his face behind his hands. “Please, don’t bring that up again. I had almost forgotten about it.”

“You’re the one that asked.”

“Which was obviously a mistake. One I won’t be making again.” Steve let out a heavy sigh as he knelt down next to where Tony was wedged underneath the two large pieces Bucky was holding together. “This is going to have to wait. Suit up. We’ve got a job to do.”

“Don’t think this means you get an out if you somehow end up getting shot again. You made a promise, Barnes.”

“As long as I get to test it out first, I’ll help you even if my guts are hanging out.”

“That’s disgusting. You’re disgusting. How are the two of you best friends?”

“I could ask the same about you and Rhodey.”

“Touché.” Tony threw his arms around Bucky and Steve’s shoulders then lifted his feet off the ground so the two were carrying him between them. “Hey, can I finally go to town on your arm after this? I’m telling you, I can make it so much better.”

“Can you make it spit fire?”

“Seriously? It’s like you don’t even know me. I’m hurt.”

“I’ll think about.”

“You always say that.”

“Well I mean it this time.”

* * *

 

Steve didn’t even have to look up from his sketchbook as he worked on the charcoal drawing of Tony and Bucky he had been working on for the better part of an hour. When he had first walked in, the two had been going over a large holographic schematic Tony had pulled up in the center of the workshop. They must have been zoomed in on one part of the thing because Steve had absolutely no idea what it was they were looking at. He hadn’t bothered to ask either because there was something about the scene that had made Steve yearn to draw the two.

The next time Steve had looked up, the two had moved on to putting their project into motion which involved a variety of dangerous power tools. How Steve didn’t hear them start using the power tools in the first place still baffled him, but Bucky had always joked that Steve would miss an explosion going off next to him if he was in the drawing zone. Not that them moving made any difference to Steve considering he could pretty much draw them both in his sleep. So Steve had put his head back down and went back to filling his sketchbook up with different scenes involving Bucky and Tony.

His most recently finished drawing wasn’t actually one of Tony and Bucky, but of Iron Man and the Winter Soldier in the middle of a fight. Iron Man was hovering just off the ground with his back facing Bucky, while he fired his repulsors at some unseen enemy. The Winter Soldier had his feet planted firmly on the ground with two guns rapidly firing bullets in both hands. The two were almost brushing up against each other and the comraderie between them was practically palpable. There was something about the drawing that made Steve dog-ear the page so he could go back later and add color to it.

The one he was currently working on was supposed to be a simple drawing of the two of them with their arms around each other, but something about it was just wrong. He’d been trying to figure it out for about ten minutes and couldn’t for the life of him figure out just what it was. Maybe he’d just drawn the two one too many times to feel like he could do them justice anymore. There were now five pages of the two in different scenarios including them dressed as their hero identities.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing.” Steve shut his sketchbook with a sigh and turned his attention to where Bucky was lounging casually next to Steve on the couch. “Did you two finish?”

“Tony’s doing some computer stuff I don’t understand. Guess you finally hit your wall? You haven’t stopped drawing since you got in here.”

“Guess so. If you’re done for right now, we could go get something to eat. I’m kind of hungry.”

“Sure. You going to show me what you’ve been working on?”

“If you want. They’re not particularly interesting.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Bucky crossed the workshop until he could clap his metal hand against Tony’s shoulder to get his attention. “We’re going to get something to eat.”

“I’ll be right up. I’m almost done with the programming. It’ll take a while to download.”

“Haven’t heard that one before.”

“Don’t sass me, Barnes.”

Bucky chuckled as he gave Tony a firm squeeze that probably left bruises then headed towards the workshop door with Steve. His arm slung amicably over Steve’s shoulder after the two exited the room and he started to hum a familiar tune under his breath. When he thought Steve was too busy pressing the elevator button to notice, Bucky tried to snatch the sketchbook out of Steve’s other hand. Steve kept a hold on it long enough to send Bucky a smirk that clearly said he had been expecting the move then let the other take it from his grasp.

* * *

 

Steve should have known Bucky was up to something when he dropped what he was doing the moment Steve showed up in the workshop. Whatever he was doing for Tony must not have been important because the other man didn’t even notice he was no longer there. The smirk he had plastered on his face should have tipped him off when the instant change in attention didn’t. Unfortunately for Steve, it wasn’t until the words had left his best friend's mouth he realized the mistake he had made.

“Are you finally going to ask Stark out?”

“What?”

Bucky leaned further back into the couch to make it seem like he was less threatening, but he’d seen Natasha use that technique one too many times to not immediately go on edge. “I’ve seen the way you stare at him. It’s a look I’ve seen before, but even more sickening. He’d say yes if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Pretending to be ignorant was never your style. Your sketchbook is full of pictures of him, you always sneak glances at him, and the last mission we went on you nearly went ballistic when he got hurt. You literally tore a robot’s head off with your bare hands.”

“So I might have developed feelings for him. I doubt Tony feels the same. He sees me as a teammate, a friend even, but not as a potential dating partner.”

“Trust me. He does.”

“I don’t know. The Avengers have finally developed a good working chemistry. I don’t want to put that at risk.”

“Fine. I’ll handle it.”

“There’s nothing to handle.”

Bucky was across the room before Steve even registered the man had gotten up from couch and was now peaking over Tony’s shoulder. He immediately started in on a steady stream of questions that Tony obediently answered with some snark thrown in every now and then. The sudden change in attention was more than a little disconcerting and Steve was sure Bucky had planned this out a while ago. He was about to go drag Bucky away from Tony so they could finish their earlier conversation when it happened between one question and the next.

“What kind of speed will this thing get? How much longer until you’re done? Would you consider dating Steve? Are you going to make it in different colors? Can I have one?”

“I can’t be sure until we test it. Probably two hours. Three at most. Yes. I’m making a pink one for Clint. Everyone is going to get one.”

“I’m going to leave you two alone now. I’ll be back in two hours. You both better be decent by then.”

Tony looked up in confusion until his eyes landed on where Steve was standing stock-still a few feet away from him. “Did that asshole just play cupid for us?”

* * *

 

“Are you going to make a habit out of defiling my best friend on public furniture where anyone could walk in on the two of you?”

“It’s my tower, I can do what I want.”

“That stopped working a long time ago. I just need to know if I should start asking J.A.R.V.I.S. if a room is safe to enter, before I walk into them.”

“I’m pretty sure Steve is going to refuse to have sex anywhere outside our bedrooms from now on. I think you walking in on us scarred him more than you.” Tony held his hand out for a screwdriver that Bucky had picked up a moment before because he knew the man would need it. “His face was bright red for an hour afterwards. He wouldn’t even let me-”

“Remember the rules. You can talk about your relationship with Steve, but no sex details and I’m not taking sides when you two fight.”

“That doesn’t seem fair. You’re Steve’s best friend. You should be taking his side.”

“You’re both my best friends. Natasha can take Steve’s side and Bruce can take yours.”

“I’m touched, Barnes.”

“Whatever. What happens if you supercool it?”

“Your obsession with supercooling is perplexing.” Tony picked up the metal container of liquid with a pair of tongs and headed over to the freezer. “Want to try it out?”

“When don’t I? How long will this take? Can we test those new repulsors after this? Have you finished those modifications for my new arm? Why haven’t I seen this before? What does it do?”


End file.
